


In Sickness and In Health

by thecompletebookworm



Series: Rumbelle Showdown [9]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Rumbelle Showdown 2018, Slice of Life, all the fluff really, child! Bae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 05:18:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14742678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecompletebookworm/pseuds/thecompletebookworm
Summary: Prompts: zoo, flu, blue; a compliment; why not?The flu has a way of disrupting even the best laid plans, even if those plans are just to go see the tigers at the zoo.





	In Sickness and In Health

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Round 3 of Rumbelle Showdown under the name Tilly.

“But why not? Mama said we could!"  

Rumford Gold rubbed his head in dismay.   He always hated having to tell his son no, but it was especially hard when Bae was looking up at him with his big brown eyes and red nose.  He’d been battling the flu for the past week and had missed his school’s field trip to the zoo.  Bae had practically cried his eyes out when he realized he couldn’t go, but as the crying turned into coughing, and as Belle sat there rubbing her hands through his hair, promising they would go to the zoo as soon as he was feeling better, Bae calmed down.  

"Well,” Rum started as he stirred the pot of chicken noodle soup.  "I was under the impression that our trip to the zoo was supposed to be a family affair and Mama isn’t really up to it at the moment.”  

“Did Mama get sick too? Is that why she isn’t up yet?  I thought she just had another really good book.”  

Rum laughed.  Even in motherhood, Belle’s weakness for books was ever present.   “I think Mama would appreciate all the good books at the moment.  You understand how not fun it is to be sick, why don’t you go find ‘Her Handsome Hero’?  It must have fallen under your bed when you both fell asleep the other night."  

It had been such a sweet picture to walk home to.  His two favorite people in the world curled around each other, Bae’s head resting on Belle’s chest, the book falling out of her sleeping hand.  The only things marring it were the literal mountains of tissues and that it was only six in the evening.   He should have realized then that Belle was coming down with it too, made her slow down before it reached the point where she couldn’t even get out of bed.   Belle had been working herself silly, ever since Whale had announced Bae had the flu, so Rum might not have been able to stop her anyways, but he still wish he had noticed the early signs.  

Still now, he was going to take care of her to the best of his ability, and part of that included keeping their son distracted and quiet.  

Bae’s face seemed to light up at finally being able to do something to help.   "Okay!  And then I’ll draw Mama a picture too!"  

"I think she’d like that."  

Bae scampered out of the kitchen, leaving Rum to ladle the soup into a bowl and pour 2 cups of tea, one iced and one hot with lots of honey.  He put everything on a tray. Realizing he couldn’t hold both his cane and the tray, he began ambling slowly to their bedroom.  

Now he always thought Belle was the most beautiful women in the world, but today was definitely not her best day.  Her face was pale and her hair stuck to her head from sweat.  She looked so small amongst her mountain of pillows.   Still she smiled when she saw him and his tray of goodies.  

"How’d he take it?”  She asked in a small strained voice.  

“He understands."  Rum set down the tray on the nightstand before moving to help her sit up.  

"You could have still gone.  You know how much he was looking forward to it."  

"And leave my wife sick in bed?  What sort of husband would I be?"  

Rum sat down next to her and pulled over the soup.  He didn’t trust her to hold the bowl without burning herself in her current state so he merely handed her the spoon and held the bowl at the perfect height for her.   He would feed her himself if she’d let him, but she hated the loss of her independence being sick brought, so Belle was insistent to do just about everything she could do by herself.   She still gave him a knowing look.

"Okay I may have also been looking forward to being able to spoil you rotten."  

"Rumple.”

Her nickname for him made always made his heart preen a little bit. It was a silly one, coming from his careful double-checking of all her work as his assistant.  She had finally remarked one day, that she was writing up inventory not some contract for stolen children, so he needed to stop acting like such a Rumplestiltskin.   He had looked at her in shock and she had blushed so prettily. After all at that point, they had hardly said a single meaningful thing to each other.   It was hard to imagine that only a year later they would be happily married and the name Rumplestiltskin could make him blush at a dinner with her father.  

“Rumple, I’m fine. I don’t need spoil-” Her words dissolved into a coughing fit that jerked her whole body forward.   Rum quickly moved the bowl of soup out of reach and rubbed circles on Belle’s back until she calmed down.  

“Okay, I guess I could handle a little spoiling."  

He kissed the top of her head gently and put an arm around her shoulder.   "Well you’ll have a hard time getting rid of me anyway."  

Their nice peaceful moment was interrupted by the bang of the door.

"Bae, how many times have I told you to not to barge in like that?”  Belle’s scolding was halfhearted, although that was not necessarily related to her illness.    

Bae looked down at his feet as if pretending his remorse before hoping on to the bed to join his parents.  "I know and I’m sorry.  I just wanted to give you this.“  

He handed her the drawing first.   It was done entirely in blue crayon.  

"It’s us, see.” Bae pointed at the three stick figures, one with what looked like three legs which probably was just Rum’s cane, one with a triangle body that was supposed to be Belle’s dress and one about half the size of the others.    

Belle ruffled Bae’s hair.   “I see and it’s absolutely wonderful, but what’s this in the background?”

“It’s the zoo. This is a tiger.”  Bae pointed to a rather unremarkable box with what looked like a giant scribble inside.

As Bae explained the rest of the picture to Belle, Rumford Gold sat there in wonder, because he had no idea how he got so lucky.  In sickness or in health, Belle was the best mother and wife he could ever have hoped for.   And from the way she smiled at him and pulled him closer, he’d wager she was probably thinking the same thing.  


End file.
